When the stars fall from the sky (first contact)
by accelerator 231
Summary: While on a delivery trip while doing a favor for a classmate, Lafiel is attacked by raiders. Losing air and power, with ftl failing, she flees into a little known and backwater system only known in the oldest maps. A little place called Earth, orbiting a yellow sun and with a system of nine planets. Life on Earth will never be the same
1. Chapter 1

Once upon a time there was a traveler crouching in pain by the roadside. A man who was walking by sat next to the traveler before he could ask for help. The man lectured the traveler at length about having a healthy lifestyle in order to avoid sickness. Satisfied with his speech the man stood up and left. His name is the United Mankind. Next, a very beautiful woman approached the traveler with an inquisitive look on her face. The traveler said, "Well, don't just stand there, help me." The woman replied, "Do you want me to help you?" She then discussed at length the situation with the traveler until she fully understood the problem. And then she nodded and left. Shortly after, the woman brought all the doctors, nurses, and staff of the closest hospitals with her. Her name is the Humankind Empire Abh.

— A political allegory from the planet of Midgrat

Lafiel, Princess of the Empire, Viscountess of Paryunu nearly snarled in anger and frustration as the klaxons in the ship continued to scream out about the drop in air pressure. Nearly. Even in the worst of conditions, an Abrial was always elegant.

It was supposed to be so simple. "Please, Your Majesty, please. Just this one small favour. Please? It won't take long, and training allows you to take a break once every few months. Just this once, ok?" Lafiel had, after separating from Jinto, been approached by another one of her classmates for a favour to help transport some goods back and forth from a world on the behalf of some of her lander friends. But something had come up, and Lafiel was the only one she could rely on. Thrilled that finally has treated her like a human being, she had immediately agreed to it.

It was no great trouble. Lafiel enjoyed socialising with her classmates and finally having someone in her training to talk to. And it wasn't because she was glad that someone was treating her as anything other than a rather imposing and intimidating statue, oh no she didn't. She did as her friend requested. And that's where things went wrong.

The delivery went smoothly as possible. There were no delays nor accidents. The Landers were sent to the orbital elevator, mouths gaping and gasping at the new sights and sounds around them, as well as their first trip into outer space. It was kinda cute, how they reacted to such familiar things.

After leaving them at the main orbital, Lafiel had departed and back through the sord, back into planar space.

That was where things went wrong.

The route she took was not one that had heavy traffic, neither was it one that was known to have merchant or military convoys travelling along it. But neither were there regular military patrols. In all likelihood, it was an opportunistic attack by those pirates. One without planning nor preparation.

Not that it mattered to Abriel Lafiel, when she found herself facing down several stolen cruise ships from the United Mankind, while stuck in a nearly weaponless Isath (transport ship). They were obviously pirates. No actual trained enemy could actually have failed to kill her, not with such a great advantage. Alive, but not unscarred, she fled through Planar Space, managing to lose her pursuers through a sord and some very daring manoeuvres.

But the ship was not unscathed. There was damage to both life support and the energy transmission systems. Thankfully, all damage to the antimatter fuel tanks had been negligible, so she didn't have to worry about exploding from leaking antimatter. But the ship was leaking air at a worrying rate, and needed to be resealed and repressurized. The energy systems were erratic and dysfunctional, sending sudden surges of power through systems, nearly crashing the computers 3 times in the past 12 hours. She needed to reroute the damage, and replace the capacitors and fuses. Which needed one important thing. A port.

One could not repair complex life support and damaged hulls and energy systems without at least turning them off or lowering their activity. And without power and air, Lafiel would die. Even the Kin of the Stars could not survive in a vacuum. She needed some way of surviving without such necessities, while she shut down the ship for repairs. A Gono (pressurized suit) might work, if it wasn't for the fact that the time taken to repair the ship would most likely take more time than she had oxygen stored. Not to mention the hazards of doing repairs in deep space, what with the high levels of electromagnetic radiation floating and surging around, as well as numerous micrometeorites.

She needed a place with breathable atmosphere and at least nominal protection from the hazards of space. A world with breathable air, or a friendly shipyard. A safe zone. A port in the storm.

But where would she find such things? She was in the middle of nowhere. The chances of a habitable planet being close by were almost nil. Like the proverbial needle in a haystack. But she had to try. She couldn't bear the thought of the look on her father's face when he finds out she is dead. She wouldn't do that to him. And she couldn't bear the thought of captain Lexshue crying for her. Her father wouldn't. But she might.

And most of all, she was an Abrial. And they never quit.

Calling up the old map archives for all of known space, collated by the empire and stored within her Kreuno (Computer terminal waistband), she began to search.

The planet was the third one from the Sun, in a solar system of 7 planets and a single gas giant. Filled with both water and living vegetation, it was a suitable landing spot. Lafiel checked the air supply remaining within the ship's tanks. 100 hours. More if she spent power. 60 hours to get there from the edge of the system.

The star force usually didn't teach their cadets how to land ships upon worlds. The only time they did so, it was so that crew of damaged ships can land to await rescue. But now, she had to land, and in a way that she could take off again. This will strain her piloting skill and improvisation.

She just hoped the locals were friendly. The radio chatter showed that there was at least some technological sophistication. But no signs of major orbital infrastructure. That meant no ports, no ftl, no way to contact off world or get a new ship after this one is trashed.

Plotting a course, the ships engines increased, and began to approach the third planet.

-

Jason Smith was bored.

It wasn't that his job was bad, it wasn't that it was unpleasant. It's just that it was so monotonous. He had always wanted to be an astronaut. Always interested in the stars and the planets in the solar system. Heck, he even built his own model solar systems out of home materials. Went to all the museums and all the conventions.

Then the funding for NASA dried up, and he realized that even if he made the cut in the air force, he would never be able to fly on a mission. There was no more competition now. The public just didn't care anymore. And without the public caring, neither did the politicians.

But he did. So he stayed here, watching the reports. Reading the instruments of the satellites they had pointed to outer space, looking at nebulae, sun flares, magnetic storms on Jupiter... boring work. But it was close enough for him.  
He just wished that he could land on the planets, instead of watching them through telescopes; to be able to walk on the surface of mars, or look at the first footsteps on the moon.

Setting the cup of coffee had had just bought, he turned to the screen, checking through the readouts over the past 24 hours.

Huh. New alert of a celestial body entering the solar system. Must be a new comet...

Wait. That couldn't be a comet. They don't work like that.

Reaching to his landline, he made a call to the higher-ups. He didn't want them to miss this.

"So what are we looking at?" His boss, Jean Dan asked. Her hair was red, reaching down to her shoulders, with her eyes a soft blue. She had been his superior for about 9 years. Fair, good, but not as good as him at reading the sensory feeds.

Jason Smith swallowed. This could make or break his career. If he was wrong, he'll be thrown out. But if he was right, he could make the history books as a celebrity. His life would be a total success by that point. Pointing at a blip on the screen, he tried to point at the screen without shaking at the ramifications of what he was seeing. "That. That came out from out of system a few hours ago, and if it continues on its current course, it will reach earth."

Jean frowned at that. "But most comets don't damage the earth that much. They tend to burn up. What's so different about this one?" Jean was management. Once, she probably did she same thing she did. But time had rusted skills. She had no idea what the screens were showing.

"Because that's not a comet." Pointing at the screen, he gestured at the spectrograph analysis of the cases trailing behind the comet. The composition showed up. "No methane. Very little water vapour... But an abundance of carbon dioxide and oxygen. And then there's thus." He brought up another screen, this one showing and infrared image. "The comet is far from the sun. In fact, too far that it shouldn't be melting and giving off gas at this point. But this image shows that it's giving off its own heat far in excess compared to what it should be receiving." And finally Jason put up a map of the solar system, and showed the comets course through it. "Look at this. It's moving straight to earth, ignoring the other planets."

Jean just frowned. "So? I don't see why that so different from other comets."  
Jason sighed internally. This was why they should have remedial classes. "Its ignoring the other planets gravity. That means that it's resisting them, under their own power. It can steer itself. The gas composition released from it is something never seen in comets before. And it's giving off too much infrared radiation. That means that there's a heat source inside of it."

He pointed at the blip indicating the 'comet'. "That's not a comet. That's a spaceship. And it's heading for earth

Lafiel had gotten past the gas giant of the system, before she realized she had forgotten a crucial part of this plan. Communication. Most planets were terrified by their first contact, and by their nature, the sudden understanding that they were not alone in the universe almost always threw entire cities and planets into havoc. Religious uprisings, riots, wars, social dissent, all of which she could not allow in good conscience, and not to mention might kill her in the crossfire.

She had to talk to them. Activating the Borsh (control buttons), she activated the first contact program. Hopefully, in the cycles she would take to get to the planet, she would be able to get a working translator.

Now all she had to do the one thing she hated doing the most.

Wait. And maybe get a speech for the planet.


	2. Chapter 2

The emergency convention was not exactly... going well.

First of all, was the scepticism. Then the political wrangling. Then the posturing. Then the angry shouts at the implications of what the readings being given meant.

"I'm telling you, it can't be anything other than a spaceship!"

"That's a impossible, this ain't science fiction! It's probably some kind of strange meteorite that's got a strange composition with some radioactive isotopes that are heating it up from within. You say this was moving under its own power? Its probably being maneuvered by sublimated gas from its surface."

"Are we even sure of the readings from these satellites and scopes are accurate? All we have are readings from decades old ones, that are few and far between. I suggest that we wait for more information first."

"I'm telling you, it's the greys! They're here to take us from Earth and use us as cattle, as the holy book says!"

"You moron! Its obviously the lizard-people! Watch out, I swear that their infiltrators will rise up to greet them soon!"

The entire convention, once so serious, started to become a farce as men began to shout, then shout nonsense, then tempers flared and the first physical blows began to ring out. It was chaos.

Jason Smith put his head in his hands, his newfound confidence and excitement gone. Could it really be a ship? Did he just wreck his entire career on nothing but a mad whim or even malfunctioning equipment?

Just as Jason's spirit was at its lowest, the doors burst open, and an aide rushed inwards, temporarily stopping the fight for awhile. "Guys, guys, there's been a message! Its of extraterrestrial origin, and its transmitting right now!"

-

Lafiel had no idea what languages these were, its strange symbols scrolling down her screen, but she didn't care. These two were the most common languages used by this civilization. Hoping that the translation machines had not failed this time, she prepared her speech.

She could not make any grand announcements. And she would not lie. She came not as a conquerer ahead of a vast fleet of ships, but in a simple damaged transport ship. It rankled her pride, but it had to be done.

"People of Earth, this is trainee flyer Lafiel, of the Humankind Empire of the Abh. I come in peace. This is a transport supply ship, it has no weapons nor hostile intentions. I was under attack several days ago by raiders and my ship is currently leaking air and power. This is a request for permission to land upon your world for repairs. I repeat, People of Earth-"

Having recorded down the message she wished to send, she sent the speech into the translation program. And it was spat out, as a seemingly nonsensical string of words. Sending it into the ships Datakryil (computer), she altered the ship's antenna configurations, and prepared it to broadcast on all bands.

Setting it to maximum power, she sent out the first message the human race of Earth will received from the stars. The program was simple, yet broadcast loudly throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. No one missed it. No program was needed to decode it. Everyone, from military satellites to ham radio owners, heard the message loud and clear. For many many years, SETI had been searching futilely for signals amongst outer space. Messages in probes had been sent out beyond the solar system. And now, an answer had come.

All across the world, people listened to their headsets and listened:

"People of Earth, this is trainee flyer Lafiel. I-

-

The people of Earth were in an uproar. Some called it a hoax. Some called for war against what was obviously a vanguard for an invasion. Some called for a welcome, and some called for caution. Some wished to simply kidnap the so-called 'lafiel' and hold her for ransom.

One thing that all knew, was that nothing would ever be the same ever again.

a/N: Anything else I should add?


	3. Chapter 3

The entire room was in an uproar. Men were shouting, waving pieces of paper around, calling for their fellow scientists and technicians to get this new piece of data. Coffee was spilled onto computers, and fires were started. Calls from nearly everywhere, was sent to the office, making the air nearly shake non-stop with the ringtones of incoming calls. Never in human history, had there been such an interesting event. Sun spots, nebulae, even the discovery of a possible habitable planet far out in the western regions of the galaxy had not caused such a stir as the discovery of what could have been a spaceship entering the Solar System.

Then The Call came, and the disorder and pandemonium multiplied by a thousandfold. Checks and inspections were carried out using all available satellites. The data was cross-referenced with every single sensor array, telescope and imager NASA had access to. Some even called friends and family who owned radios. They, too, had received the call. With that and triangulation of the signal indicating it came from outer space, they could only reach one conclusion:

There truly was alien life, and it was coming this way.

Some wept. Some were really excited. Some prayed as the human race was about to be changed. And some... Some got worried.

"We're not alone after all are we?" One asked.

"No, we're not alone." The other replied, shaking his head.

What ominous beings stood upon that ship, he wondered, as he looked upon the blip on the 3D map that represented the spacecraft travelling across the solar system. Do they come in peace or war? Were they humanoid, a strange form of life, or utterly recognizable as life in any way? Were their customs and rituals bizarre and inhuman? Would they understand each other, or would there be mutual frustration and confusion? Would it even deign to speak to them, or was it just a passing tourist?

Of course, all these questions were moot.

"Is this really necessary?"

The question came out to the other 9 people in the room. 9 of the most powerful people in America. And by extension, the world. The only reason he didn't feel intimidated, was because he was more important than any of them. After all, he was in charge.

"So, what do we have here? Does it pose a danger to the United States? And is it really necessary to retreat to one of our bunkers? Let me guess. Its the alien spaceship I've been hearing about."

One of the members of the Council looked vaguely uncomfortable, and the other replied. "Mr. President, despite the alien ship's calls for help and its proclamation of peace, its quite possible that it has malicious intentions for our world. We placed you here in this bunker in case of any... unfortunate incidents. The vice-president is already in another one."

At this, one of the aides standing by the group went over to the projector, displaying several graphs and grid lines. "This is our analysis of the exhaust from the alien's ship," The word 'alien ship' made the President startle. At this point, this entire event made him feel like he was in a dream. Not anymore. "We have analysed the energy given off, and we believe that the alien ship's movement is powered by antimatter, based upon the spectrum of light energy given off, and the fact that it had the power to travel to here, that the alien ship, designated A-01, is powered by anti-matter"

Switching to another slide, he showed the definition of antimatter, alongside a picture of a mushroom cloud. "Anti-matter is the opposite of ordinary matter, causing mutual annnihilation upon contact. It has an extremely high yield of energy. A teaspoon of antimatter is equivalent to the bomb 'Little boy'. We believe that the ship coming towards us may contain enough antimater to wipe out all life on earth. Or at least, render it uninhabitable for human life, by detonating an antimatter bomb and causing mass climate change."

This caused the room to become very very quiet, as they digested what was recently said. Then the President spoke up. "What are our options? Do we have any anti-space defenses? What about our nuclear missiles?"

The National security advisor spoke up. "That's unlikely. We do not have any weapons specialised for ground to space attack. Even if we were to send out any missiles, its likely that the aliens have prepared for that, with either ways to intercept them or to avoid them via ECM. And its unlikely anyway for us to be able to destroy any antimatter missile should they send it over to us. And no way to dispose of it safely either. Just having antimatter in contact with air is enough to detonate it."

That did not sit right with the president. Here he was, during the greatest event the world had ever known, in the world's greatest and strongest country, and they had no way of dealing with any attack.

The President of the United States, was, for the moment, helpless to protect the country.

That was a new, and sombering feeling.

"So what do we do now?" he asked.

"We wait. And pray this 'Lafiel', whoever he is, to be friendly."

Jackson was in the basement, tuning in to the ham radio, when The Call came. He was tinkering with it, scrolling through the bands. Most of the time, it was just static, with only a few others. He had been talking to some dude about 3 miles away, who also had an interest in building his own radios. He should meet him some day.

But as he was tinkering with the headphones, he heard a message. "This is trainee flyer Lafiel, of the Humankind Empire of the Abh-" It surprised him the first time the message came on. Then the message went on again. Then again. In a loop. The second time it was received, he finally understood what the message truly meant. He twisted the knob of the radio, but the message was being broadcast across all frequencies. Finally accepting that the message and its implications exists, he thought: 'This is either the biggest thing in history, or this is a huge prank. But either way, I've got to tell people.'

Starting up his computer, he began to type a new thread into every single internet forum he knew about. This is going to be interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

Lafiel sat in the pilot seat, leaving the ship in orbit around the world. From here, she could see the clouds, forests, and continents of the world. Around her, floated debris from forgotten satellites and disposable rocket stages. It seems her initial assessment was wrong. They did have orbital infrastructure. Just not a lot of it. There was a whole host of commercial satellites, some military ones with hilariously primitive shielding and cloaking systems, and a single space station that her scanners indicated contained several human beings aboard.

Lafiel wanted to meet them. To meet other denizens of this world in her element. But she couldn't. She still needed to land.

The ping on the computer alerted Lafiel to the presence of messages being transmited to her via either satellites from orbit or from the ground. It seems that her message was discovered and her ship's location was found out. Time to enter negotiations.

"Good morning, citizens of this world. This is trainee flyer Lafiel-"

The President had called a press conference, in the middle of the day. Many were... prepared for such an event. For at least a few days, there had been whisperings around the grapevine and the water coolers. People from NASA talking about some spaceship travelling through the solar system, moving straight to earth. There had been meetings and movements, talks and communications between important people and organizations. The FBI, homeland security... all very classified, but the movement was there.

There was the UFO. It was mostly likely a hoax, but there have been outcries from astronomers, both professional and amateur, that there was a spaceship floating in orbit. The professionals were saying nothing. The amateurs were excited and talking about it on the internet.

And then there was the Call. A day ago, every single radio station and cell phone, anything that could pick up a signal, suddenly transmitting calls of a 'trainee lafiel' of an 'humankind empire of the abh', stating that she needed to land for repairs. It was a joke, of course. It must be.

They gathered before the podium, anxiously waiting for the news to break out. The tension in the air was almost palpable. Everyone knew something strange was going on. The happenings in the past few days proved it. Something was going on. And they were going to find out. The news crews crowded forward, stopped only by the armed guards and the railings.

A small titter appereared as the President stepped up to the podium. Looking upon the gathered reporters and news crews for a moment, seemingly underneath a great burden. With a tap and whine, the microphone activated, and the President began to announce a piece of news which would rock the world. "Good morning you all. I would like to announce our first contact with an alien from another world, called trainee Lafiel. She is currently within her spaceship, at earth's orbit, and is currently in discussion on where is the most appopriate place to land. We-"

He could not finish the sentence before the room erupted in an uproar of questions and flashing lights.

"Hey, hey, hey! So do you see it? I got the new telescope. What do you think?"

Samuel excitedly stood next to his friend, as he let him look through the telescope at the night sky. The telescope was new, and much more powerful than the rest. It was much more accurate, too. The one currently looking through it, his childhood friend and fellow astronomy enthusiast David, peered through it at the coordinates inputed. "Yeah, I see it. Its... just floating up there. Doesn't look like a satellite I've read of or seen pictures of. And it can't be ordinary rock debris. Its too regular. Doesn't seem to be a cast off rocket stage from a previous launch either."

Hearing David agree with him seemed to make Samuel even more excited. By now, he was nearly jumping up and down with excitement. "yeah! And didn't you hear the radios suddenly talk just yesterday? Think that's the alien spaceship that's coming here? Man, I really want to meet this 'Lafiel', whoever he is!"

David looked sceptical at that. "There are no such things as aliens, Samuel."

"But what if there are?"

Looking up at the star studded sky above him, David replied. "Well, then my first request would be to beg them to let me travel with them to outer space."

Lafiel sat in the cockpit, listening to the discussion.

It sounded like the screeching of prepubescent children. The numerous languages, alongside the translator, started to sound more like a cacophony instead of a conversation. And it was going so well. At first, it had been the Americans. And then, more and more intruders came in, butting into the conversation. Now it was just confusing.

"The United States of America would gladly welcome you to our land-"

"The People's republic of China would happily play host to our visitor from beyond the-"

"This is the Democratic Republic of Korea. We invite you to dine with our glorious Leader-"

This continued on and on, while Lafiel tried in vain to sort through the conversations. The headaches brought on by several days worth of constant consciousness did not help either. Finally, her patience was worn out.

"Enough!" The shout was, if transmitted correctly, defeaning. "This will never end. You are obviously rival powers to each other on this planet, and so will never accept your opponent getting first access to the first visit from an extraterrestrial visitor. So instead of arguing for each other, just go back to your masters, and agree on a location that all of you are willing to accept as the hosting area. Goodbye, have a nice day."

At this, Lafiel cut the signal, ending the entire farce. A planet with multiple leaders, nuclear weapons, and rival blocs of powers? This is a mess. Its a miracle that they haven't nuked each other to oblivion yet. Stalking towards the bed, Lafiel set the autopilot to maintain geostationary orbit.

Coming to this place, getting parts for repairs, and setting off back to the Empire may be harder than she thought. Lafiel wondered, uncomfortably in the back of her mind, whether or not her presence and the technology she brings has brought the world to ruin.

A/n: Good god, how does one put a line break in the center?


	5. Chapter 5

It took at least another planetary rotation for them to finally decide a landing spot. Sighing internally, Lafiel looked at the remaining stored air within her the ship. Still enough for several more rotations. But to think that there were several ruling parties... perhaps she should simply have gone to the space station itself. But moving out of orbit at this point may mean that the parties on the ground could not reach her, due to them not being able to find her in space.

The signal came over again, this time only one speaking to her. The voice was female, and sounded haggard and tired. "We've already decided on a place you could land, so as to speak with all of us at once. Please follow the signal being broadcast at this frequency." At that, Lafiel felt the thrum of a signal being broadcast, passing into the ship's sensors. It originated from one of the main continents on the planet.

"Roger, whoever you are. This is Trainee Lafiel, signing out and preparing for landing. Please standby." Pressing a button by her side, two pods detached from the ship, and firing antimatter thrusters, briefly lighting up the sensors in a dozen instruments now pointed out to space. One held itself in geostationary orbit, for the entire world to see. The other sped to the edge of the system, and powered itself down, slowly becoming indistinguishable from a random piece of space debris.

At that, Lafiel retracted the links to her tiara and began to walk to the back of the ship. It would b rude to bring a ship containing tanks of antimatter into the atmosphere of a world that had done her no wrong. Her boots clanking as she walked through the corridors, Lafiel wondered how she would break the news of the Abh Empire and their new fate to this world.

Carolyn was there, when the ship landed.

The impromptu landing area had been selected, by the United Nations, picked over, debated, and finally chosen based upon the fact that there was absolutely nothing nearby for over a hundred miles. A military base at Groom Lake Test range, a remote base filled with rumours of alien and UFO sightings. Someone must have had a sense of humour.

The landing area was cordoned off by military personnel, the armed men in their fatigues and webbing standing out under the harsh glare of the overhead spotlights. From their shoulder patches, she recognized them as Army Rangers. Once upon a time she'd had a colleague, a reporter whom had spent time embedded with their 3rd Battalion in Afghanistan. He'd had stories from his time with them, many grim. She wisely chose not to approach them.

She was wearing a hazmat suit. The silver shining in the sunlight, and the faces obscured by the mask and the filters. They had made it mandatory to wear these. Anyone that might come into contact with the alien is to carry out countermeasures against possible biological contamination. No one was sure about what diseases were carried on the ship or that Lafiel carried, but everyone was well aware of what happened to the native Americans.

Looking around, she also saw noted several military trucks situated in a perimeter around the landing pad. Humvees specifically, fitted with what she recognized to be surface-to-air missile pods. Contemplating their purpose, she quietly hoped that neither they nor the soldiers around them would be necessary. Far in the distance, past the runway and the perimeter fence helicopters and planes buzzed overhead, their flight paths slowly circling the facility and their aviation lights twinkling against the starry night sky. There were others out there too, soldiers from the Nevada National Guard patrolling by foot and truck. Overall, it was hectic yet somehow not. The Nevada night air was uncomfortably warm, and filled with a strange, heady mix of unease and anticipation and the sound of muted nervous chatter and distant machinery.

The reporters around here were working, some holding up camcorders and speaking in commentary, and some taking photographs, or some were on calls talking to their managers. There weren't many of them. Only about 20 reporters and their associated helpers. She herself was only allowed due to several stints in military warzones, as well as her discretion on several military incidents where they wanted to keep things secret. Her stomach grumbled. She only had military rations, but reports said that the alien spaceship was moving in the direction of the base and was coming in to land. She wasn't going to miss this for the world.

Huh. Alien spaceship. She never thought that she would say it. It still seemed like a dream. It had appeared so fast. One day, all the radios had gone crazy, and then people were shouting about aliens. Then her boss had called her, telling her to take a plane to Area 51. It had taken him 3 repeats before she realized he was serious. So she washed her face, grabbed a toothbrush and a set of clothes, and then got there.

First contact. A historic moment in history. The presence of an alien in the solar system. The radio signal that had overridden everything with a sensor and a receiver on Earth, that constantly broadcast those few words. It had been truly an exhausting past few days, with constant panic and activity in the office, frantically answering calls and going out for interviews. The reactions were mixed. Some had bought food and gone into the wilderness. Some had gone to church. Some had hid in bunkers. And others had screamed about alien invasions. The last ones, she did not care about. What kind of alien invader comes into the solar system, calling out for help when he could just as easily dump rocks or relativistic missiles onto the planet? It made no sense.

Then she saw it.

It was a massive trail of fire, burning brightly in the afternoon sky. It was blinding, almost as bright as the sun, and it streaked across the horizon as it approached the landing zone. Cries of shock and surprise, and the click of cameras rang out as people started taking photos. The firey comet flew closer, closer…. until the ship itself appeared. It hung in the air, surrounded by plumes of fire, until it began to descend onto the recently created landing pad made for just this occasion. Retrorockets and thrusters spat out jets of flame, blackening the recently paved concrete and making the air blur with heat. And then, with a shudder and a thud, the spaceship landed and the rockets shut off.

There was silence.

Then a door on the ship opened, and a ramp extended downwards. Upon hitting the concrete flooring, there was a soft 'thunk'.

You could hear a pin drop.

Two men ran to the base of the ramp, and the red carpet was rolled out, from the ramp, extending out to a limousine parked out at the edge of the landing pad. The soldiers rushed out, apparently having practice at this. They lined up in formation, at each side of the carpet like statues.

A figure stepped out, and began descending the ramp.

There had been much speculation on what the aliens looked like. Some talked about how he must have be humanoid, for that is the most efficient design in nature. Some joked that it would be a tentacle monster, here for our women. Others said that it must look like the Greys. Others said little green men. More joked about how they must be blue skinned aliens. Some said that they must be insectoid, or not even mammalian. The more daring scientist she had interviewed had even said that they may not be physical.

No one expected the pilot to be a blue haired elf. Pointed ears included. The ears flared out from the side of her head, as if from some strange fantasy movie. She wasn't fancily - all she wore was a tight fitting suit. And it was definitely a she. Those two lumps on her chest was definitely something half the human species had and the other half loved.

There was now a murmur, as people started to register Trainee Flyer Lafiel's presence. Shutters clicked and lights flashed as the historic moment of an alien walking upon human soil occurred before their eyes. Carolyn took several photos, making sure to have her cameraman keep the camera trained on her. Meanwhile, she took notes.

The limousine doors opened, and out walked the United Nations ambassador for extraterrestrial contact. Maltar Ozman. A decorated Malaysian astrophysicist, whose appointment to her position had caused quite a stir 8 years ago. Some laughing, some saying that it was redundant, and some celebrating that the UN is taking extraterrestrial contact seriously. No one was laughing now. Maltar, on the other hand, looked like she was steeling herself for the possible confrontation. She could tell from the body language, although the face was obscured by the hazmat suit. Teana admired her resolve, but she was probably out of her league. This was not something any government or country on earth could possibly have predicted nor made sufficient plans for. Humankind Empire of the Abh... the Empire.

Carolyn hoped that they didn't resemble the British.

The two stood before each other, from literally different worlds. One was an astrophysicist. Another a pilot. One was from earth, and the other beyond. Lafiel raised her hand and everyone tensed for a moment...

Only for them to relax as she brought up her hand in a two fingered salute.

"This is Trainee Flyer Lafiel, of the Humankind Empire of the Abh. I greet you as the kin of the stars, to the people of this planet. Please, bring me to your leaders. I have very important news for them."


	6. Interlude 1

**Scientists detect antimatter reaction in comet - strange astrological phenomenon, or alien spaceship?**

 _Telescopes detect energy readings similar to that of antimatter annihilation in CERN_

Today at 3:00 a.m. Scientists at NASA has detected energy being released by an exocomet, which has arrived in our solar system 2 days ago at high velocity, going past Pluto.

"It's a very strange thing, to see such readings coming from a comet that should be by all means be inert." He commented. Jason Smith was the first to note down the unknown comet's strange properties. "Its almost as if antimatter is being released. It must have been captured by the comet in some unknown reaction. Study of this comet may in fact give us more information on antimatter and how it works in space. "

 _Please click here for more details._

BREAKING NEWS. WORLDWIDE RADIO BROADCAST. NASA SAYS THAT IT IS FROM SPACE - ALIEN BROADCAST, OR PRANK CALL?

This morning at 8:36 AM Pacific time, radio receivers and stations worldwide received a message, repeating in a loop. The contents of the message seem to be pretending to be from an alien asking for a place to land. Whomever made this, must be a fan of science fiction. The message is...Please click to expand

"And now we have here, astrophysicist and astrobiologist Dr. Hartman, who we have invited here today to speak about the incoming spacecraft. Dr. Hartman?"

Applause came out, as a man came walked into the camera view from the side of the studio. He wore a suit, and his greying hair was short and straight. His glasses were clapsed on his shirt, giving him an informal yet dignified air. Someone that people would listen to.

"So Dr Hartman, what do we know about the spaceship?" Asked the newscaster. This would be the best interview of her job. She knew it.

"Well, Miss, from our readings of the Hubble telescope and the assorted satellites we have around the solar system, we have already gotten several photographs and good readings that give us quite a number of details." The newscaster nodded, motioning for him to continue.

"Here is a photograph of the ship, captured by a satellite called SP-01." The screen showed a ship, with a single squarish section at the front, before tapering and then flaring out again, with 4 pods attached to the sides of the segment at the back. Exhaust trailed behind the ship, and the picture seemed surreal, as if from a digital painting or a dream. The fact that it was real and travelling this way, made it seem even more fascinating. Beside the initial photograph, there were other versions, showing the appearance of the ship in terms of infra-red and radiation.

[ sorry, doesn't let me post images here

. ]

"Now look at the ship there. From what we can see, unless they are things that we cannot imagine, are hidden, or are too small to see, the ship has no weapons. It is, as the Trainee Flyer Lafiel said on the radio signal, a supply transport ship with no weapons."

The newscaster down at the list of questions she was supposed to ask, and spoke out loud. "So does that mean that we can be assured that we are safe? That the alien is of no danger to us?"

"Hah, no." Said Dr. Hartman, half chuckling, half laughing. He put up a spectrograph, alongside several other charts and readings showing the radiation released from the ship. He pointed at the exhaust from the ship in the picture. "That? That shows readings that we've only seen a few times in CERN. That shows both the marks of antimatter annihilation and nuclear reactions." He turned to the newscaster, the camera, and in extension, the audience. "It all makes sense. Faster than light travel, and interstellar travel in general, needs lots of energy. And the more mass you have, the harder it is to move. You need something energy-dense. And there's nothing more energy-dense than anti-matter. Antimatter which explodes with the force of nuclear bombs upon contact with normal matter."

"This flyer Lafiel may not have hostile intentions, but I hope like hell that he, she, or it, is a very good flyer. Crashing that ship onto earth would likely kill us all."

"What about the message? The one that said Humankind Empire of the Abh? Do you think this truly is a spaceship from a human race? What do you think of the hypothesis that humans were taken by aliens from ancient times, or the idea that humans originated from the stars and were not on earth originally?"

This Dr. Hartman looked thoughtful. He paused for several moments, deep in thought. Then he looked up, and replied. "I'm not sure. The humankind part is most likely a translation error. After all, it could simply be a mistranslation of a term meant to mean something similar to 'brotherhood' or 'People's'. Something to denote the Empire's wish to be seen as a bastion of unity and put others at ease."

"I'm more worried on how she a managed to learn our language, and learn several in fact. This might not be the first time we have been observed..."

He checked his bag. All clear. He took a cab to the outskirts of the city. There, he took the car he reserved for emergencies like this, and got to the bunker he prepared.

It was an 8 hour drive, and all this while, he was listening to the radio. They were talking about the alien, and whether or not it was hostile. What was it? Was it from a race filled with enlightenment? Energy beings? Green men?

Fools.

This was obviously a ploy made by the UN. They would gather up people under the pretense of alien contact, and then in one fell swoop, take over the planet.

He would be prepared. He had prepared for this for years.

They would never take him. Not without a fight.

"And thus, behold, the evidence the devil has planted there, to deceive us! To weaken our faith! To turn us from the lord!"

The church was packed, far more than before. The pews were filled, and people were either sitting or standing on the floor. The doors were open, so that the people crowding just outside the doorway could hear his sermon.

Preacher Parkinson hadn't seen such a congregation for a long time. And neither had he felt such passion for his words. It must be God, sending out his power and granting his blessings so that he may warn his dear flock of what is to come.

"An alien? The bible makes no mention of aliens. And the bible is always true. That is no alien, but instead a fallen angel sent out, in order to make us go astray! The presence of aliens defiles and degrades the existence of God's creation. Their very existence goes against the divine nature of man, and his uniqueness amongst the Cosmos! Who here has read aliens in Genesis? There is none. Thus, they are not creations of Jehovah, but instead, of Lucifer."

The congregation here was listening intently, more attentive than ever. The arrival of this menace had them scared and doubtful, with people wondering if this was the beginning of some strange calamity. They had no need to fear. He was here to guide them.

"Do not worry, my fellow Christians. For though this 'alien' may seem dangerous, but our faith and the blessings of our Father in heaven shall shield us. All that is needed, is for us to make sure that it does not serve as a stumbling block for others. It would not be allowed to close people's eyes to God's word."

"My friends. We must kill the alien."

He knew it. He knew it when the radio came alight, when the voice came, that he knew what he had to do. Crouched in the darkness, amongst filth and trash, lit only by the light of a computer screen, he realized the truth of his existence.

He knew he was always being watched, that there were people laughing at him.

The can of coke he bought in the market tasted off. There was a bitter after taste. The sourness tasted sweet instead of the rancidness he liked. He threw it away, and never went there again.

Another time, he received a letter from a government agency, claiming that they found something, that he was go to one of their offices to collect it. As if. After tearing it up and burning it in the trash, he watched his step for people stalking him. A man in the black suit entered his building, and got into the lift with him. That was nerve wracking. It only stopped when the man exited the floor right below his own.

And now, this alien had come. Claiming to be in a damaged ship and asking to land. It all clicked now. The reptiles were invading. This ship was the vanguard and the herald.

He went to his cupboard, and picked up what he was looking for. His father's old gun, a

IMI Desert Eagle. One with powerful enough bullets to kill with one shot. He loaded in hollow point rounds. He would protect the world, no matter what.

Putting it into his back pocket, he opened the door, and for the first time in a few weeks, stepped outside.


End file.
